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WHO DUN IT??


Long time ago when man lived in caves, they often wondered if it was by magic that the voice echoed in the darkness of the cold barren caves. Evolution, as the scientists say, started in these dark barren caves, where cave men evolved to become the more civilized human race. But still the mystery continued. The mystery of sound! Man continued to be bewildered by Nature. And this kept him busy. He tried to figure out ways to improve his life.

Life as we know it today, owes its gratitude to many known and unknown faces. If it were not for people like James Clerk Maxwell or for Heinrich Hertz we would have never stopped being awe struck by sound. Ever since they figured out electromagnetic waves the world took another leap at technology. It was a small step for these scientists and a huge leap for Radio. Wireless communications helped bond boundaries and bring people closer.

But confusion begins every time a teacher asks her student, “Who invented Radio?” The answer never surprises anybody, because everybody thinks Radio was invented by Marconi. Now, what would happen to poor James Clerk Maxwell, Heinrich Hertz, Joseph Henry, Alexander Popov and Nikola Tesla?
Maxwell was the one to realize that electricity and magnets can be coupled to emit electromagnetic waves. Hertz gets the credit of developing the first transmitter and receiver. The credit of discovering the action of electromagnetic waves at a distance, however, must go to Joseph Henry. Popov had actually transmitted and received Radio waves in Russia, in 1894, just a year before Marconi. But it was the marketing done by Marconi (who had read some of the results of Maxwell’s experiments, whilst he was vacationing in the Alps) which actually brought Radio into the Limelight.

Then, to whom should the title “The Father of Radio” belong to? Some say that Tesla would do justice to it, as he, Nikola Tesla, was the one who fine tuned the crude receivers his predecessors had developed. Tesla also invented the coupled tuned circuit, now familiar as the Tesla coil. By 1896, he made further refinements to the transmitter so that Radio signals could be transmitted across the Atlantic!

Each has done their bit, by contributing positively, to the evolution of turning the electromagnetic waves into Radio waves, and thus, Radio. Radio took over the world like wild fire, till the Television was invented. They say, ‘Every dog has its day’. And the days of the Radio are back, mesmerizing everything it touches. Unlike the Television, the Radio gives us surreal images making it the best picture ever seen. Radio today, is taking over the internet too! Streaming of Radio is fast catching up in India, and who knows one day when we sit quietly by the window, watching the rain and listening to the music coming from this magical invention, we may wonder, “Who dun it?”

Comments

pawan said…
I think u as a radio jockey did a wonderful thing postin dis.... Actually its u ppl who hav made it a possible comeback 4 d radio, infact i used to listen to d radio only for ur show. When it was stopped i never looked at it even once!!!!
hats off to u d creative ppl who hav made sound much more interestin!!!
Unknown said…
veryyyyy informative and makes you want to read more and more of it...very captivating... i like such blogging!! this is a goooooooooooooooood oneeeeeeeeeeeee
Mood Swings said…
whoa!! coming from an RJ herself this is great stuff. I dint know Maxwell myself until i bumped intot his one. Thanks for posting!!
Unknown said…
Hi princesssssss...... its soo sweet da.... nothing is small to achieve.... it is what YOU 'achieve' n nothing is easy to achieve.... get moreeee....
Jaydeep said…
heya... first of all, congrats on winning the contest. had read about Maxwell, Hertz and Tesla in my engineering. but as u'd guess, that time they were just course materials to be read through, and forgotten after the exam (if u clear it, that is)... never thought of them as the father of the very medium i work in right now... great article...

Jaydeep
Copywriter (Radio Mirchi, Nagpur)

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